Postwar Germany taught Europeans that passive sympathy with tyranny pays more than resistance.

Evidence

What has the average European learnt for the future from postwar conditions in Germany? He is forced to the conclusion that in periods of totalitarianism it is not wise to stand at the top, but advisable and even advantageous to be among the sympathizers; that it may be risky to be actively involved in the worst atrocities, but is entirely safe to commit more minor crimes. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 1718

Categorization

• XREF: Inverts the standard moral lesson of totalitarianism; resonates with the Milgram obedience findings and with Foucault’s insight that institutions calibrate risk to make complicity rational. — connects to: Postwar conditions taught Europeans that middle-level Nazi sympathizing was the safest position; Postwar denazification systematically rewarded former Nazi sympathizers over resisters. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1717; Postwar German public discussion revealed majority anti-democratic and anti-Semitic sentiment. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1887 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Postwar West Germans showed mostly negative or ambivalent attitudes toward democratic values #corroborates (0.85) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 1888
• Postwar German public discussion revealed majority anti-democratic and anti-Semitic sentiment. #corroborates (0.80) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 1887